Dr. Konstantinos Adamantopoulos

Professional Experience

Professional Qualifications and Memberships
Konstantinos is a dual qualified Greek lawyer and member of the Brussels Bar's E list since 2002. He specialises in EU trade law, EU competition law, including merger control, and State aid. He has worked extensively and has in depth expertise in the telecommunications, media, sports, energy, mining-commodities, aviation and construction/public works sectors as well as the steel and chemical industries. He regularly represents clients, from across Europe, the US and Asia, before the European institutions and has extensive experience of litigation, representing governments and corporate entities before the European Commission, the Court of Justice and the General Court of the European Union, as well as in dispute settlement procedures before WTO institutions.
 
Konstantinos has authored a number of publications on European law and policy and has presented at conferences on aspects of EU competition, State aid, trade and air transport law. He regularly lectures on EU law. Formerly the managing Partner of the Holman Fenwick Willan LLP Brussels office, and head of their European Law Unit, Konstantinos now operates from his own law firm.
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Trade Law
  • Advising and defending various exporters before the European Commission in anti-dumping investigations concerning imports into the EU of, inter alia, solar panels and  large industrial scanners originating in China; serial impact dot matrix printers originating in Japan; electronic typewriters originating in Japan; large aluminium electrolytic capacitors originating in Japan and the U.S.A.; colour TVs originating in Hong Kong and the People's Republic of China; compact disc players originating in Japan; plain paper photocopiers originating in Japan; magnesium originating in India; CDR's originating in Taiwan; malleable pipe fittings and polyester staple fibres originating in Korea; PER and steel wire ropes originating in Thailand; hot rolled coils, quarto plates and stainless steel bars and wires originating in India; bicycles originating in China; coated steel originating in China.  Advising and defending various exporters in anti-subsidy investigations against stainless steel bright bars, stainless steel wires, steel wire ropes and hot rolled coils originating in India;
  • Representing the Ministry of Commerce of China in EU anti subsidy proceedings relating to bicycles, stainless steel and  polyester staple fibres originating in China;
  • Advising and representing EU-based complaining industries in anti-dumping actions before the European Commission concerning, inter alia, imports into the EU of furfuryl alcohol originating in China and Thailand; linear tungsten halogen lamps originating in Japan; and furfural originating in China;
  • Advising on and submission of complaints to the European Commission and UK Customs authorities concerning circumvention of anti-dumping duties and misuse of preferential tariff treatment, based on the country of origin of, inter alia, textile, fisheries and footwear products;
  • Advising and representing corporate entities before the European Commission in procedures for the granting of temporary tariff suspensions on imports of certain chemical products into the EU, including polytetrafluoroethylene;
  • Research and drafting of two large reports for UK textiles importers on the effects of the GATT Uruguay Round and the dismantling of the Multi-Fibre Arrangement, including, inter alia, the reduction of import tariffs, the removal of quotas, import licensing, customs valuation and the Generalised System of Tariff Preferences;
  • Analysis and drafting of complaints in customs review procedures for classification of printer equipment, electromagnetic apparatus and other electronic products for Common Customs Tariff purposes;
  • Advising and representing a major European conglomerate in the framework of procedures initiated in France and by the European Commission pertaining to the proper origin determination of plain paper photocopiers imported into Europe by this company form third countries;
  • Advising the Government of Russia on WTO accession;
  • Representing multinational companies in customs classification and valuation proceedings before EU member States customs authorities and courts;
  • Advising and representing the Government of Korea as a third party in WTO Dispute Settlement procedures on EU subsidies to Airbus – U.S. subsidies to Boeing;
  • Advising the Government of India in pre Dispute Settlement Consultations regarding the WTO compatibility of EU anti-dumping duties imposed on Indian steel hot rolled coil imports; and
  • Advising several multinationals on European export control issues.

Competition Law  - Merger Control - State Aids
  • Successfully representing British Midland Airways Ltd. before the European Court of First Instance in an application for the annulment of the European Commission’s decision in 1994 to approve FF 20 billion of State aid to Air France;
  • Successfully representing various members of the Greek auditing profession before the European Commission against the Hellenic Republic which had granted exclusive rights to a certain Greek auditing company;
  • Advising the European Commission in its assessment of the payment of later tranches of State aid to Olympic Airways.  This case has involved detailed consideration of Olympic Airways’ complicated social and economic restructuring efforts, in its attempt to change itself into a modern and profitable airline;
  • Successfully representing BEUC (the European Consumers’ Union) before the European Court of First Instance against the European Commission involving a failure to give due consideration to a complaint filed with the Commission relating to complex issues of competition law and voluntary export restraints in the motor vehicle sector;
  • Representing a major Dutch-Greek construction consortium before the European Commission in a complaint against the Greek Government for a failure to properly apply EU public procurement laws to the granting of contracts for the construction of a major infrastructure project in Greece;
  • Representation of a major U.S film manufacturer before the European Commission in procedures pertaining to the notification of certain patent licensing agreements;
  • Representing a major Greek shipping company before the European Commission in procedures relating to an infringement of EC Treaty anti-trust rules;
  • Representing a major U.S. specialised chemicals manufacturer before the European Commission in proceedings relating to an infringement of EC anti-trust rules;
  • Representing two major Greek shipping companies before the European Commission in a procedure pertaining to the notification of a joint venture agreement;
  • Advising a major U.S. chemicals industry on matters pertaining to the application of EC anti-trust rules to various commercial transactions;
  • Representing one of the world's largest advertising companies in leniency preceedings before the European Commission;
  • Representing OTE, the Greek Telecommunications company, in anti-trust and State aids procedures before the European Commission;
  • Representing Cosmote, the largest Greek mobile telephony provider, before the Albanian Competition Authority;
  • Representing a major US automotive equipment manufacturer in EC Merger Control Procedures;
  • Representing  the Greek Government) in EU State aids proceedings regarding Hellenic Shipyards and subsequently in two major pending ICC arbitrations;
  • Representing UIP, the major film distribution company,  before the Greek Competition Authority in anti trust proceedings;
  • Representing Alticor, the US specialist food supplement  manufacturer, in merger control procedures in Greece;
  • Representing the Bank of Piraeus and the Greek Commercial Bank in State aids procedures before the European Commission  pertaining to the approval of these banks pension reforms;
  • Advising Kuehne & Nagel and Air China on EU anti trust proceedings relating to air cargo surcharges;
  • Advising and representing European Goldfields Ltd. And Ellaktor SA in a EU Commission State investigation concerning the price paid by said companies to the Greek Government for the acquisition of the “Kassandra” gold mines;
  • Advising and representing UEFA in arbitration procedures involving EU and national anti trust issues.
  • Representing Cipla, the major Indian pharmaceuticals manufacturer,before the European Commission ion anti trust procedures relating to perindopril; and
  • Advising and representing Forthnet, the major Greek telecommunications operator in EU merger Control procedures. 
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Air Transport
  • Assisting Air Europe, an airline established in the United Kingdom, in a matter concerning Air Europe’s access to Lufthansa’s Computer Reservation System in Germany;
  • Assisting Delta Air Lines Inc., a U.S. air carrier, in acquiring the European operations of PanAm with the exception of operations concerning the U.S. - London Heathrow route;
  • Advising Delta Air Lines Inc. with regard to German aircraft noise emission limitations;
  • Assisting Singapore International Airlines in drafting this airline’s denied boarding compensation rules in accordance with the relevant EC Regulation;
  • Advising Aeroposta, an Argentinean airline, with regard to the initiation of a scheduled air transport service between Buenos Aires and Brussels;
  • Advising World Cargo Services and Flying Doctors Club, two Greek air transport operators, with regard to the conclusion of aircraft leasing agreements and the registration of the aircraft concerned in the Greek aircraft register as well as the granting of air operator’s certificates;
  • Advising Air Belgium on the provision of non-scheduled air transport services on routes between Maastricht (The Netherlands) and non-Member States of the European Community;
  • Advising IATA on several matters relating to the application of European Union Competition laws to air transport;
  • Advising Aeroflot on the Trans-Siberian one flight issue and its participation in Sky-Team Alliance;
  • Advising USAir on access to certain EU Member State markets and slots at London Heathrow airport;
  • Advising Air China on the EU Regulatory framework and competition law;
  • Advising Polet Cargo on EU cargo issues, market access and general litigation; and
  • Advising China Eastern Airways o compliance with the EU aviation emission control scheme. 
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Litigation before European Courts
  • Case C-373/11, Preliminary Ruling of Hellenic Association of Tobacco Processing Industries;
  • Case T-262/11, Ellinikos Chryssos Anonymos Etairia Metalleion kai Viomichanias Chryssou, (Hellas Gold) vs. European Commission;
  • Case T-261/11, European Goldfields Limited vs. European Commission;
  • Case 403/10 P, Mediaset vs. European Commission;
  • Case 337/09 P,  Council of the European Union vs. Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group Co. Ltd.
  • Case T-150/09, Ningbo Yonghong Fasteners Co., Ltd. v Council;
  • Case C-419/08 P, Turbowest Handel GmbH and Mr Makarov vs. European Commission and European Council;
  • Case T-177/07, Mediaset vs. Commission, application for annulment of European Commission Decision on State Aids to Italian Digital Broadcasting (presently on Appeal);
  • Case T-498/04, Zhejiang Xinan Chemical Industrial Group Co. Ltd., vs Council of the European Union;
  • Case T-429/04, Turbowest Handel GmbH and Mr Makarov vs. European Commission and European Council;
  • Case T-111/04, OJSC Bratsk vs. European Council;
  • Case C-553/03 P, Panhellenic Union of Cotton Ginners and Exporters vs European Commission;
  • Case T-300/03, Moserbaer vs. European Council;
  • Case T-187/03, Scippacercola vs. European Commission;
  • Case T-274/02, Ritek Corporation vs. European Council;
  • Case T-89/00, Europe ChemiCon Deutschland GmbH vs European Council;
  • Case T-57/99, Viraj, Isibars, Mukand et al. vs. Council of European Union;
  • Case C-49/96 P, N. Progoulis vs. European Commission;
  • Case T-180/95, Nutria S.A. vs. European Commission ;
  • Case T-394/94, British Midlands Airways vs. European Commission;
  • Case T-79/94, O.N. Petrides Tobacco Company vs. European Commission;
  • Case C-322/93, Automobiles Peugeot vs. European Commission;
  • Case T-37/92, BEUC, NCC et al. vs. European Commission;
  • Case T-23/90, Automobiles Peugeot SA et al. vs. European Commission;
  • Joined Cases C-19/90 and C-20/90, N. Karellas et al. vs. Greek Industrial Reconstruction Organisation; and
  • Case T-49/89, Mavrakos vs. European Council.
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Publications
  • " Das Subventionsrecht des GATT in der EWG", Köln 1988
  • "Annotation on the Ahmed Sayeed Case of the European Court of Justice", Common Market Law Review 1989, at p. 535 et seq.
  • "Multilateral Agreements Concluded in the Framework of GATT", in Lew, Stanbrook (Eds.): International Trade Law: Law and Practice, London 1990.
  • "Subsidies in External trade Law of the EEC: Towards a Stricter Legal Discipline", European Law Review, Vol. 15, No. 6, 1990.
  • The "Component Parts" Amendments of EC Anti-Dumping Rules as Implemented by the Institutions of the EEC: An infringement of GATT law?", Saarbrücken 1990.
  • "Comments on the Proposed Second Air Transport Liberalisation Package of the European Community", in Dagtoglou (Ed.): Air Transport and the European Community, Deventer, Piraeus 1990, at p. 101 et seq.
  • "Block Exemptions in the Air Transport Sector", in Dagtoglou, Balfour Stuyck (Eds.): European Law Association, vol. 3, Deventer, Piraeus 1991, at p. 73 et seq.
  • "Greek Air Transport Report" in Schwarze, Becker, Pollak (Eds.): The 1992 Challenge at National Level, Baden-Baden 1991, at p. 163 et seq.
  • "Greek Air Transport Report" in Schwarze, Becker, Pollak (Eds.): The 1992 Challenge at National Level, Baden-Baden 1993, at p. 185 et seq.
  • "Provisional Remedies in Greek Arbitration Law", in Bösch (Ed.): Provisional Remedies and Arbitration Proceedings, Berlin 1993.
  • “Anti-Dumping Proceedings in the European Community”, A practical Guide for Interested Parties, October 1993.
  • “Model Dumping Calculations in the European Community”, Case Studies and EC Commission Practice, November 1993.
  • “Administrative Problems of Airline Deregulation - The Greek Perspective”, page 289 et seq., Revue Hellénique de Droit International, L’institut Hellénique de Droit International et Etranger.
  • “Current Developments in the State Aids Policy of the EC in the Air Transport Sector, Deventer, 1995.
  • “Towards a Multilateral Investment Regime: Results in the Uruguay Round and Prospects in the OECD”, International Banking and Financial Law, March 1955, Volume 13, Number 10, Page 1 et seq.
  • “The WTO: Legalizing GATT”, Corporate Counsel Magazine, June 1995.
  • “Consumer Interests in Procedures Before the European Court of Justice, page 359 et seq. of Nomos Verlagsgesellschaft Baden-Baden, 1996.
  • “An Anatomy of the World Trade Organisation”, Kluwer, The Hague, 1997.
  • “The Future of the WTO and the Reform of the Anti-Dumping Agreement: A Legal Perspective”, Fordham International Law Journal, Volume 24, 2000.
  • “EU Anti-Subsidy Law & Practice”, Palladian Law Publishing, 2000.
  • “Recent Developments in Air Transport Law within the European Union”, The Air & Space Lawyer, American Bar Association, Volume 16, Number 1, Summer 2001.
  • “Greek Antitrust Rules”, The European Antitrust Review 2000, A Global Competition Review Special Report.
  • “Trade and competition: developments in the EU”, The European Antitrust Review 2000, A Global Competition Review Special Report.
  • “Recent Developments in Air Transport Law within the European Union”, The Air & Space Lawyer, American Bar Association, Volume 16, Number 1, Summer 2001.
  • “State Aid and Public Undertakings with Specific Reference to the Airline Sector”, The Law of State Aid in the European Union, Andrea Biondi, Piet Eeckhout and James Flynn, Oxford University Press, 2004, Page 219 et seq.
  • “New Audience for Military Two-Step”, The International Trade Today, February 2007, Page32 et seq.
  • The 2007 Handbook of Trade Enforcement, Global Competition Review, March 2007.
  • EU Law on State Aids and Pensions: Pension Reform of the Greek Banking Sector, Pensions International, November 2007.
  • Subsidies, International Restrictions, Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, December 2007.
  • EU Anti-Subsidy Law Practice, Sweet & Maxwell, December 2007.
  • The 2008 Handbook of Trade Enforcement, Global Competition Review, March 2008.
  • Agreement on Subsidies and Countervailing Measures (SCMA), WTO-Trade Remedies, Koninklijke Brill NV, 2008, Page 423 et seq.
    • Article 3, WTO-Trade Remedies, Koninklijke Brill NV, 2008, Pade 471 et seq.
    • General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade 1994 (GATT), WTO-Trade Remedies, Koninklijke Brill NV, 2008, Page 759 et seq.
    • Review of "EU Anti-Subsidy Law and Practice" book, the Journal of Business Law, J.B.L. 2008, 8, p.809-810.
    • Subsidies, International Restrictions, Max Planck Encyclopedia of Public International Law, September 2009.
  • Setting Anti-Trust Standards for Standards, Competition & Antitrust Review, Euromoney Yearbooks, 2010, page 18 et seq.
  • The Increased Interaction between Competition and Trade, The European Antitrust Review 2010, GCR, page 54 et seq.
  • Article VI : Anti-Dumping and Countervailing Duties, WTO - Trade in Goods, Volume 5, 2011, Wolfrum, Stoll and Hestermeyer, page 195 et seq.

Conferences
  • The Impact of the Completion of the European Single Market on Cyprus, Symposium on the relations between the European Community and Cyprus, Nicosia, 1989
  • Greek Report on Air Transport, The 1992 Challenge at National Level, Florence 1990 and 1992
  • The Gatt Uruguay Round, EC Hellenic European Law Association, Athens, 1991
  • EC Environment Policy, Greek Danish Symposium on Environmental Technolocy, Athens 1991
  • The Third EC Liberalization Package on Air Transport, Winthrop, Stimson, Putnam & Roberts, New York, 1992
  • Value Added Tax in the Single European Market, British Hellenic Chamber of Commerce, Athens, Thessaloniki, 1992
  • Emerging Barriers to EC Trade, Japanese Institute for Business Law, Tokyo, 1993
  • EC State Aids Policy, American Bar Association's Forum on Air and Space Law, Washington DC, June 1994
  • Public Interest in Litigation in Anti-Dumping Matters, Berlin, December 1995
  • State Aid in the Air Transport Sector, Hellenic Associate on European Law, Athens, April 1996
  • Aircraft Maintenance and Ground Handling Contracts, IATA, Hanoi and Beijing, July-August 1997
  • Computer Reservation Systems and the European Union Regulatory Framework, IATA, Geneva, July 1998
  • European Union Anti-Dumping and Anti-Subsidy Law, Confederation of Indian Industries, New Delhi, February 1999
  • European Community Competition Law and Policy, College of Europe, Bruges, May-July 1999
  • Trade and Competition Seminar, College of Europe, Bruges, July 2000
  • The EC Mexico Free Trade Agreement, Mexico City, August 2000
  • The EU Regulatory Framework on Sports, ABA, Phoenix, 30 May-1 June 2002
  • The Doha Round Dispute Settlement Issues, London, December 2002
  • EC-Russia Trade Policy Issues, Conference on Russia, Eventica, Russian Economic Forum, Frankfurt, December 2002
  • Trade and Competition Practitioner Workshop – WTO Issues, The British Institute of Comparative Law, London, 25 March 2003
  • EC State Aids and Public Sector – Berliner Privatisierungsforum, Berlin, March 2003
  • EC Air Transport Regulatory Framework, JAT Yugoslavian Airlines, Belgrade, September 2003
  • 18th Annual Conference, Recent Developments in European Air Transport Law and Policy, European Air Law Association, Paris, November 2006
  • China Export Seminar, SBB, Shanghai, April 2007
  • Corporate Counsel Forum, Legal Week, Brussels, May 2007
  • 46th London Leiden Meeting, British Institute of International and Comparative Law, London, June 2007
  • Competition Law Seminar, Beijing, September 2007
  • ABA Forum on Air & Space Law's Annual Meeting on antitrust, competition and consolidation in the airline industry, ABA, Memphis, October 2007
  • British Embassy in Korea, Korea and UK Lawyers Co-Operating in an Open World, Seoul, October 2007
  • The European State Aid Law Institute 6th Experts' Forum on New Developments in European State Aid Law, Workshop and Conference, Brussels, June 2008
  • Business Europe and Canada-EU Mining Council Conference; European Raw Materials Trade & Investment Forum; Securing Jobs & Growth in a Global Market Business, Brussels, November 2009
  • The European Commission Merger Control Decision in Olympic Airways/Aegean of January 2011: International Conference on Competition Law and Policy, IMEDIPA, Athens, May 2011
  • Article 106 TFEU and Privatisations: Privatizations - Legal and Economic Design, Institutional Implications, Competition Policy, IMEDIPA, Athens, 25 November 2011;
  • Current EU shipping law issues, European Shipping Week Brussels, March  2015
  • International Sanctions and the WTO, British Institute for Comparative Law, London, May 2015
  • EU competition law and its impact on Asian companies, 4th Hong Kong Competition Law Forum, Hong Kong, September 2015
  • Corporate M&A due diligence and export controls / international sanctions, Export Controls Conference, Brussels, September 2015
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Professional Qualifications and Memberships
Member of the Athens Bar since 1984.
Member of the European List of the Flemish Section of the Brussels Bar since 2003.
Affiliate Member of the American Bar Association.
Member of the German Greek Lawyers Association.